Ranbu Escalation (PMMM/Gaim)

[X] Madoka wouldn't take too long, and Sayaka was apparently fine. The two of them talk alone.

"Do you mind if I talk to Sayaka alone?" Madoka asked. "I mean... I kind of want to talk to her in private. You're nice, but Sayaka and I have been friends for a long time, and there's some things we need to talk about. It'd be easier if we were on our own."

Mami nodded. "I understand. Take your time. Just call out if you need me, okay? If Miki wants something to eat or to be healed faster, I'll come in if you call."

Madoka smiled. "Thank you, T- Mami."

She looked over at Kyubey for a moment, who didn't seem to react in any way.

"I understand your concern already." Kyubey admitted. "I will remain here with Mami. You should be able to notice if I listen in telepathically."

Madoka kept her gaze on Kyubey for a moment, unsure of whether or not to trust it.

...Well, either way, it didn't really matter. Madoka didn't have any way of stopping Kyubey if it wanted to listen in. Madoka knew she was interacting with something Homura didn't trust, but it was a neccesary risk, to save Homura again.

For now, at least, Madoka trusted that Kyubey was Yggdrasil's enemy, and didn't want to see Duke and Zangetsu with any more advantages over Magical Girl. Duke's rapier was already bad enough.

"...Okay, then." Madoka nodded, reluctantly. "I'll try not to take too long. I don't want to keep you from helping Sayaka."

"It's no trouble." Mami replied. "Talk with Miki, talk about anything you need to talk about. Don't let me get in the way."

"I'll be out soon." Madoka decided, walking away from Mami and towards the room Sayaka was in.

Pushing the door open, Madoka kept it quiet as she looked in.

Sayaka was resting on a bed, her arm bandaged and to the side, looking through some kind of book. As Madoka stepped in, Sayaka looked over, and put the book down on a bedside table, pushing herself up.

"Hey, Madoka." Sayaka grinned. Her arm pushed against the wall behind the bed, and she winced suddenly.

"Sayaka!" Madoka exclaimed. "I-It's fine, just rest, it's-"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Sayaka replied. "Nothing broken. Just pushed it wrong, hit a bruise. Sorry, didn't mean to make you worry."

Madoka looked at her, as she rested against the bed again, and propped her head up with a pillow.

"Are you okay?" Madoka asked. "You looked pretty bad earlier, and I..."

"It's fine!" Sayaka forced herself to smile again, but Madoka could tell it was mostly just a brave face. "Trust me, it was a lot worse before."

Shutting the door behind her, Madoka stepped into the room, and sat down at the foot of the mattress.

"So..." Madoka began, trying to think of how to begin the discussion.

...Well, there was no way to beat around the bush with it.

"...Sayaka, why did you become a Magical Girl?"

The blue-haired girl froze up slightly at the comment, then looked downwards.

"...Yeah, I suppose I should explain." Sayaka replied. "I... Wanted to help."

She looked up for a moment, and Madoka gave her friend a moment to collect her thoughts, letting her speak on her own terms.

"...I was being a real bitch yesterday." Sayaka sighed. "I... Didn't want to see you in trouble. I wanted to keep you safe. Akemi... I still don't know what her deal is. That doesn't mean it's okay to just tell you to throw her away and think about yourself."

"Sayaka, it's fine, you-"

"I was just trying to look out for my friends?" Sayaka asked. "Is that really alright? Looking after just a few people, at the cost of anyone else? That's not something a good person does."

"That doesn't mean your'e a bad-"

"I already know what you're going to say, Madoka." Sayaka sighed. "This'll go a lot faster if I just explain."

Madoka wanted to argue against Sayaka's self-deprecation, but fell silent instead. They weren't getting anywhere like this.

"...Sorry."

Sayaka took a moment, before she continued.

"...You're a great person, Madoka." Sayaka continued. "I don't want to do something like that and then pretend it's just normal. I needed to make up for that. So... I thought for a while, what I could do. Then at lunch at school today, I spent the whole time figuring out how to find Tomoe."

Sayaka smiled a bit. "You and Hitomi mentioned her, remember? When saying who Kyubey was? I wanted to be a Magical Girl so I could do the right thing. Protect you and Hitomi while you went and tried to be heroes. Looked after Akemi like you. Became someone who could look after everyone. So I wished to be strong enough to be someone like that. Someone who could protect people. My friends, the people who need it, anyone."

She laughed at that, darkly bitter. "Kyubey warned me I only had so much potential, it'd only take me so far. I thought I'd at least be able to help you run away without getting messed up."

"It's fine, Sayaka, it's fine." Madoka kept assuring her. "We don't know how strong that thing was, and how long had you been a Magical Girl for? A few hours?"

"And how long have you been an Armoured Rider for, actually using your powers?"

"I wasn't even able to run away and save someone when Zangetsu and Duke appeared." Madoka replied. "And the only reason you got hurt instead of me was because you were on the back of the bike."

Madoka forced herself to smile. "You saved me, Sayaka. Thanks."

Sayaka blinked, and just stared at Madoka.

Madoka didn't know if she was laying it on a bit thick, but it was the truth. Sayaka was the only reason she'd gotten away from Yggdrasil, after getting to the camp. Sayaka was the reason that Madoka hadn't been killed by the giant Inves. And...

Well, Madoka's mother had set to let Sayaka know how much Madoka relied on her. It was best that Madoka began now, then.

"...And now Akemi's in Yggdrasil, huh?" Sayaka asked. "And you're going to save her, I assume."

"Yeah." Madoka confirmed. "I'm just going to need to figure out how to get enough power, or enough people."

"I'm in." Sayaka confirmed instantly. "If you're going up against them, then I'm not sitting aside."

Madoka smiled, earnestly. "Thanks, Sayaka. I knew I could rely on you."

The blue haired girl preened in the praise for a moment, before Madoka continued.

"It's going to be a lot of work." Madoka continued. "Tomoe already said she'd help, and Kyubey knows another Magical Girl who might be willing to negotiate. Kumon saw Zangetsu in the woods, so I should be able to convince him-"

Kumon?" Sayaka asked. "As in, the jackass who leads Baron?"

"...We don't have many other choices." Madoka sighed. "He's got a Driver, and a reason to fight Yggdrasil. I need to at least try to convince him."

"It's a waste of time." Sayaka dismissed. "I didn't see much of him, but I saw enough. I made sure to rewatch Sagara's streams of your fights with him. He's a dick. There's no point in trying to negotiate with people like him."

"...Maybe." Madoka admitted. "But I'm not sure what else I can do. Baron is the strongest Beat Rider team, and for now at least, he's the strongest Armoured Rider not with Yggdrasil. I want to try to talk to him. If he brushes us off, then we didn't lose anything in trying."

Sayaka looked like she was going to say something, but sighed instead.

"Well, you've had a decent enough instinct so far." Sayaka grumbled.

The two girls sat in silence for a moment, before Madoka spoke.

"...Are you going home tonight, Sayaka?" Madoka asked. "Do your parents know where you are?"

"...I don't think I'll be alright before it gets too late anyway." Sayaka admitted. "And... Well, I learned earlier that I'm not good enough yet. I think I need more time to practice this Magical Girl thing."

That wasn't an answer.

"...Sayaka, you are going to let your parents know, right?"

"I'll give them a call soon." Sayaka defended herself. "But... Well, normal life seems like it'd get in the way, right now. I want to be able to keep everyone safe. Maybe it's for the best if I just focus on this for now. Miss school for a bit, just hunt witches and practice. Get stronger. I'll come up with an explanation when we save Akemi, I guess."

"Sayaka!" Madoka cut in. "You... You can't do that! Your parents will be worried, the teachers will be worried, Hitomi would be worried-"

"What are we going to tell Hitomi, anyway?" Sayaka asked. "I mean, assuming you haven't told her anything yet."

Madoka blinked, and recognised the sudden divergance. It was a good question, but...

"I'll tell her everything tomorrow." Madoka insisted. "I'll call her on the way home to let her know I'm alright, but Sayaka, you need to look after yourself. You can't just ignore everything else and focus on getting stronger."

"...Come on, Madoka." Sayaka sighed, looking away. "The people at Yggdrasil don't have to deal with stuff like school. I'm never gonna catch up if I don't do everything I can."

"You won't need to face them alone." Madoka insisted. "You, me, Tomoe, that's three against two already. Maybe some people with guns and Inves, but those are hardly problems. I'll talk with some Magical Girls, I'll try to talk to Baron, get anyone else we can. Get more Lockseeds. We'll figure something out. You don't have to burden yourself like that to get strong enough on your own."

Sayaka looked away, and silence hung in the air for another long moment.

"...You're right." Sayaka sighed. "I'll tell my parents I hurt my ankle or something, make up an excuse for staying out tonight. They'll be mad, but if I make it sound like Tomoe was helping me after I got hurt they probably won't punish me for it."

"...Thank you, Sayaka." Madoka smiled again. "I'll let Hitomi know we're both alright, and..."

She considered it, for a moment.

"...There's probably too much to talk about in one phone call." Madoka admitted. "And I don't want to be overheard by anyone I pass walking home. Maybe we should all meet up tomorrow. You, me, Hitomi, Tomoe. We can explain everything to Hitomi there."

"Man, that's gonna be an awkward conversation..." Sayaka muttered.

"It's good to see you're okay, Sayaka." Madoka smiled. "And... Thanks, again. For saving me in the forest."

"It's fine, it's fine." Sayaka waved her off.

"I should probably head home now." Madoka noted, looking out the window. "It's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." Sayaka waved again. "See you there."

Madoka bowed slightly, and left the room.

"Ah, Kaname." Mami smiled, as Madoka stepped out. "How did it go?"

"Sayaka's okay." Madoka replied, nodding. "She could probably use some healing now, though."

Mami nodded, picking up her Grief Seeds.

"And you're going now, I presume?" Mami asked.

Madoka nodded. "Too much later, my parents will worry."

"Well, be safe." Mami replied. "With everything that's going on, who know's what could happen if you aren't careful."

"She'll be fine." Kyubey noted, jumping up to the top of the couch. "I'll be in touch, Kaname. If that's okay with you? It'd be convenient, if I used my telepathy to let you and your friends communicate."

"...That's okay, Kyubey." Madoka stated, trying not to look too suspicious. "I'll manage."

"Should I talk with Magical Girls tonight about having a meeting with you tomorrow?" Kyubey asked. "Or do you plan to make contact with the Beat Riders of Team Baron instead? Or something else?"

Madoka took a moment to think about it.

"...I'm not sure yet." Madoka admitted. "I'll text Sayaka before I go to sleep."

"I could merely keep a link open between you and myself-"

"No thank you." Madoka replied, rubbing the back of her head. "Um, no offence, but the idea of talking with a stranger while I'm about to go to bed is a little weird, isn't it?"

"I don't understand." Kyubey admitted. "But if you wish. I will alert Miki Sayaka of your intended course of action."

Stepping off the couch onto Mami's shoulder, Kyubey rested on her head as the older girl walked towards the room Sayaka was in. Mami waved goodbye to Madoka as the pink-haired girl left the apartment, and Madoka made sure to shut the door as she left.

Pulling out her phone, Madoka quickly moved over to text Hitomi, to update her on everything that happened. And as she walked, she considered her course of action.

[X] Talk with a Magical Girl tomorrow
[X] Talk with Team Baron tomorrow